The Following
by ElvishNature
Summary: A new evil approaches Hogwarts during the time of the Marauders. The only clue is a girl with extraordinary powers and a horrible past. Will MWPP save Hogwarts before it's too late? Look out Voldie, The Following is coming. *chapter 3 is up!* R/R please!!
1. Prolouge Back To School

A/N: All characters mentioned in my fanfic that have been mentioned in the Harry Potter series are property of J.K. Rowling and are not being used for a profit, or other wrong doings. Expect quotes from various TV shows ranging from Monty Python to The Simpsons. I don't own anything except the characters that I create, and my story line. This disclaimer is valid to all chapters added to this story. Enjoy!  
  
Prologue  
  
Outside 72 Rolling Lane, the atmosphere was a dreary one that seemed to foretell of things to come. Evil things. As she looked out the huge stained- glass window in the sitting room, it was almost as if she could see the weather change from only overcast to full-blown stormy. This intrigued the observant girl; she amused herself for a time just watching leaves blow past in the street, street signs sway in the turbulent wind, and the forks of lightning that would add some color to the otherwise dark black void that was the storm clouds. She heard footsteps upstairs, and suddenly loud shouting and crashing sounds. This didn't surprise her any, as her mom and dad were prone to fighting and loud arguments. The girl just went on watching the storm brewing out the window, oblivious to what was really going on upstairs.  
  
"You can't! I won't let you!"  
  
"It's not your decision, Dylan. She'll be part of The Following, just as I was and my mother before me. It's a continuous cycle that cannot be broken, no matter how much you want it to. In the end, she'll become a Follower and that will be the end of that."  
  
"She won't become a foul mental lackey just like you! She's better than that! If you think for one minute that you can have her for your own whims, you're wrong! Even if I die she won't become a Follower. Never!"  
  
"Oh, really? Let us see about that. Avada kedavra!"  
  
And as the rush of sudden death overtook poor Dylan, the girl looked up to find herself not in the window seat of her sitting room at all, but now standing in the entrance way of a huge manor. She blinked twice, as if not sure what had happened. Then, someone was coming down the hall.  
  
"Ah, yes, we have been expecting you. Right this way."  
  
Numbly she followed, wondering how this had ever happened in the first place.  
  
Maybe there would be answers here.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter One: Back to School  
  
"Oi! Remus! Wait up!" shouted Sirius Black as he ran down the platform at King's Cross Station. People jumped out of the way of the barely controlled cart filled with trunks, a cage, and a broomstick as it was steered helter-skelter by Sirius, yelling his pardons as he ran. He came to an abrupt halt in front of his friend, nearly hitting a poor old woman carrying groceries, "Thanks, mate. Nearly killed ten people, new record I think. Is James here yet?"  
  
"I dunno, maybe he's already went through the barrier," said Remus sensibly, wheeling his cart up to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.  
  
"Nah, he told me by owl over the holiday that he'd meet us outside the barrier by ten-forty-five. It's ten-fifty now. Where is the midget?"  
  
"You know James and punctuality don't travel hand in hand," Remus reminded him. "He's probably just.oh look, there he is now."  
  
A gangly boy of seventeen approached them, messy raven hair and thin-wired glasses the only thing that could distinguish him from the next boy. That and the fact he had a rather big gold shield pinned to his jacket.  
  
"Hallo James!" Sirius greeted his best friend, then did a double take. "Oh, no, that isn't.you can't be.I'm ashamed! Simply ashamed!" he placed his arms around James shoulders and promptly pretended to sob dramatically, as if someone had died.  
  
James patted his head patronizingly, "Nice to see you too, Sirs. And I'm surprised myself actually, but there you go."  
  
"Being Head Boy is an honor, Sirius. Don't treat it as if he's grown an extra head that looks like Snape for God's sake!" Remus rolled his chocolate brown eyes.  
  
"Ooh, that would be horrible, wouldn't it?" James commented. "Truth be told, though, I could at least wash his hair then."  
  
"Small reward that'd be. Let's get through the barrier, shall we? The Muggles are staring at our owls like we were mad or something."  
  
"All right, Padfoot, we're coming." The three best friends all slid through the magical barrier into Platform Nine and ¾ one at a time, as not to raise anymore suspicion than they already had. Once through, the trio met up with more of their friends: Frank Longbottom, Arabella Figg, Peter Pettigrew, and Mundungus Fletcher, to name a few. The group was laughing over a joke Frank told them about a contortionist hag and her nympho-vampire cousin when the whistle blew on the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express. They all filed into a rather large compartment and settled in for the long journey to Hogwarts.  
  
"And she said 'You're soaking in it'! Sweet Merlin, that's a classic, Frank," Sirius slapped him on the back, still laughing over the joke. "Where did you hear it?"  
  
"Oh, here or there," smiled Frank wickedly. "So, how was your holidays'?"  
  
"About as spicy as a boiled potato. Nothing interesting ever happened." Complained Remus.  
  
"Aside from the fact you turned into a vicious wolf once a month, right Moony?" grinned James.  
  
"Aside from that, yes."  
  
"Well, my summer turned out to be a total waste," commented Sirius. "I dated only five decent looking girls, and six who were, how should I put it? So-so."  
  
"A total waste?" exclaimed Peter, who would have a better chance at becoming Minister of Magic than having a girlfriend. "I'd say you must've had loads of fun, wink, wink, nudge, nudge."  
  
"Oh yes, Wormtail. There was that," smirked Sirius, then winked roguishly at Arabella, who was looking at the two of them in disgust. She promptly rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"Honestly, Sirius, if I have to hear about your sexual escapades one more time, I swear I'll rid you of your most 'prized possession'." She looked pointingly at his pants and waved her wand menacingly.  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
"Carrying on," interrupted Mundungus. "James, how ever did you manage being dubbed Head Boy? With your reputation, you wouldn't think McGonagall would nominate you."  
  
"You would think so, Mundy," James said. "In fact, I have absolutely no clue why I was chosen, come to think of it. Just the Potter name I guess," he said airily, with slight prestige. He flashed a grin soon after.  
  
"Oh yes, Prongs, the Potter name does hold up for something," Remus' eyes twinkled with laughter. "If you wanted plates, that is."  
  
The compartment was filled with laughter when suddenly the door slid open, revealing a rather ruffled looking girl with startling red hair and a gold badge on her robes.  
  
"Is James Potter in here?" she looked at each person, finally resting her gaze on him. "There you are! You need to come up to the front compartment. All of the prefects are having a pre-Hogwarts meeting, and we need to be down there to instruct them on how to direct the first-years and so on." The girl said this very fast, as if by just standing there, she was wasting precious time.  
  
"All right, all right, I'm coming," James slowly stood up and brushed off his gray slacks. "I'm guessing you'd be the new Head Girl?"  
  
"Right in one," she smiled. "Lily Evans, Ravenclaw," she extended her hand and he took it and shook it firmly but friendly. "Charmed. Now if you'd be so kind to lead the way, Lily Evans, Ravenclaw, we can attend this meeting."  
  
Lily gave him a malevolent look for the jibe as they both exited the compartment. Sirius reclined on the now empty seat and crossed his arms over his head, "My, my, if I knew that's what Head Girls looked like these days, I might have behaved as a child."  
  
"Oh, I highly doubt it. Even if you were a perfect angel, and even the idea is laughable, you still would need brains," Remus pointed out, ducking and laughing as Sirius took a half-hearted swing at him.  
  
"Now, now, Remus, just because you got more O.W.L.s than we've got fingers doesn't mean you can just go and put down the academically challenged," said Frank.  
  
"Thank you." Sirius began to say, but Frank cut him off.  
  
"Even if Sirius is more challenged than some."  
  
"Just when you were on my good list too," he pouted, then joined in on the laughter. Sirius wasn't as stupid as his friends teased him about; in fact, he was brighter than almost everyone, except for Remus. He just didn't like to admit to the teachers that he was, even though it was obvious in the way he did things. This had always frustrated his professors to no end, which might have been the reason all along of why he kept up with the "slow- charade".  
  
After the laughter had ceased, and Frank and Mundy started a game of Exploding Snap, Arabella got up to leave the compartment.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?" inquired Sirius.  
  
"To change," she informed him as if it were obvious. "We're almost to Hogwarts, if you hadn't noticed. And it's not like I can change into my robes in here."  
  
"Well, if you want my opinion." Sirius raised his eyebrow suggestfully.  
  
"I don't," Arabella said abruptly. "See you at the Sorting." She walked off down the corridor, her dark brown plaid swinging back and forth, her blue eyes never straying back towards the compartment. This was lucky for Sirius, who was at the time making faces at her retreating back.  
  
"You know, she's right. We're about ten minutes away," Peter looked at his wristwatch.  
  
"Might as well change into our robes then," Mundy laid down his card hand, which promptly exploded. "Damn, there goes the clear complexion," he sighed, wiping the soot off his face.  
  
"Nah, black suits you," laughed Frank. "C'mon, let's get the robes on."  
  
*****  
  
When the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station, everyone was in good spirits. The boys piled out of their compartment, joking and laughing the entire way as they searched for the carriages that would take them to Hogwarts. Remus, Peter, Sirius, and Frank piled into one, while Mundy grabbed Arabella out of the crowd of bustling students and sat with her and two sixth year Hufflepuffs. James was no where to be found, probably making sure the first-years got to the boats all right. After all, Hagrid couldn't do it by himself.  
  
The carriage ride was fairly uneventful, if you don't count Sirius' "accidental" setting off of a Filibuster Firework, which in turn spooked their horse and made it run willy-nilly in a full gallop until Remus placed a Calming Charm on it.  
  
"Seriously, Sirius, you're going to be the death of me," moaned Peter, clutching his chest. Soon after, the carriages pulled into the driveway in front of the entranceway of Hogwarts. They all caught up with Mundy and Arabella and proceeded to enter the school.  
  
"Oi! There's James!" shouted Remus rather loudly as the gang pushed their way through the mass of people. He was in a lively, but one-sided, conversation with Lily when they finally reached him.  
  
"So you're also the Qudditch captain. Fascinating," Lily was saying with not much conviction.  
  
"Oh yes, the best Seeker the Gryffindors ever had," he said proudly, not noticing the fact that Lily didn't seem to care.  
  
"Really. At least you haven't let that go to your head," she said seriously and walked off, not hearing the laughs from James' friends or seeing the sheepish grin and embarrassed red tinge on James' face.  
  
"Good one, Prongsy," Sirius patted him on the shoulder. "Way to be the modest chap I always knew you could be."  
  
"Shut up," James shook his head. "Most girls love it when I talk about my accomplishments."  
  
"Well, I don't think Lily's most girls," Remus said. "Which, by the way, earns her a spot on the good list."  
  
"Cheer up, mate, we have a feast to look forward to," Frank directed them to the Gryffindor table, which was all decked out in gold finery. After a few minutes of messing around, the first-years entered the Great Hall, their faces the masks of anxiety and nerves.  
  
Professor McGonagall left her spot on the Main Table and proceeded to set a three-legged stool in front of the new students. On it, she placed the well- worn piece of cloth known as the Sorting Hat. The first-years stared at in apprehensively before the rip along its side opened to sing the Sorting Song. As the ditty ended, the Hall filled with applause. When it had ceased, McGonagall retrieved a scroll from the sleeve of her emerald green robe and unrolled it.  
  
"Now as I call your name, you will come up, sit on the stool, and place the Sorting Hat on your head so it can see where you'll be Sorted," she explained to the first-years, which made their anxious looks ease up a bit. "Abernathy, Hattie."  
  
A timid looking blonde girl with rosy cheeks ran up to the stood and jammed the Hat on her head with shaking fingers. It took only a second for the Hat to Sort her.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
"I could have told her that," Sirius muttered, impatient. "I want food. Now!"  
  
"Calm down," Remus looked at him, as "Boot, Laurence," became a Ravenclaw. "The Sorting's more important than food."  
  
"Well, I'm hungry, and since I can't eat the Sorting, food's a little higher than it in the whole scheme of things."  
  
"Will you two stop bickering like an old married couple?" James said, exasperated.  
  
"Oh, fine. Sorry dear," Sirius smiled at Remus, who just looked at him funny.  
  
"Hey, isn't she a little too tall to be a first-year?" Peter suddenly said, pointing into the group around the Sorting Hat, which was slowly diminishing. The girl in question stood almost a head over the other students and wore a blank look, as if she didn't care where she was.  
  
"Yeah, wonder if she plays Quidditch," commented James. "We need a Keeper this year and her height would be a good advantage."  
  
"That's assuming she's a Gryffindor and a Keeper," Frank pointed out, as "MacNair, Leon," became a Slytherin.  
  
'True, true."  
  
"Still though, she almost looks, well, old," observed Remus, who was peering at the girl with some interest. "Like maybe fifth year."  
  
"Fifth year? Are you off your rocker?" Mundy snickered. "You can't be Sorted when you're fifteen! You're too old!"  
  
"So? She still looks old," muttered Remus stubbornly. The Sorting when on, and soon, the girl was the only one left. Professor McGonagall read her name from the scroll.  
  
"Yonkers, Thalia." McGonagall glanced at her over the rims of her square spectacles. Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, but then went back to normal. She still had a look on her face that clearly read, "This girl looks too old to be a first-year."  
  
"Ha, even McGonagall thinks so," Remus said triumphantly, reading her look successfully.  
  
The girl walked up to the Sorting Hat nonchalantly and flounced herself onto the stool. She placed the Hat on her head and waited. And waited. But the Sorting Hat wasn't saying anything. The other students could sometimes hear a faint "tsking" or a frustrated sigh, but that was all. As the minutes ticked passed, the Great Hall became deafly silent, as it seemed everyone was holding his or her breath. The Sorting Hat never took this long to Sort a student! Suddenly, its voice was heard across the Hall. It was quiet and laced with frustration and defeat.  
  
"I don't know." 


	2. The New Girl

Chapter Two: The New Girl  
  
Like a single entity, the Great Hall occupants gasped in surprise. Remus turned to James, his usual calm and collected façade replaced with a more confused, even scandalized one, "Did the Hat just say what I think he said?"  
  
James replied with a mute nod of his head as his, and the rest of the students', attention became once again focused to the front of the Hall. Dumbledore had left the High Table and was now situated in front of Thalia, who, surprisingly, looked fairly unruffled for one who had just stumped the unstumpable Sorting Hat. He said something to her that was lost beneath the buzz of voices, and then plucked the Sorting Hat off her head, removed his own blue and gold starred hat, and then placed the latter on his head.  
  
The crowd fell hush again as they watched their Headmaster intently. For what seemed like an eternity, he stood there, arms crossed, brow creased in deep thought. The entire population of the school was holding its breath; the tension thicker than a dragon's hide. Suddenly, Dumbledore spoke.  
  
"After a quick council with the Sorting Hat, we have come to a conclusion about Ms. Yonkers house placement," Dumbledore looked around at the students reassuringly. "She will be a Gryffindor."  
  
Sirius looked at James, who in turn looked at Peter, who in turn looked at Remus, who just shrugged and mouthed, "What? Am I supposed to know everything?" The boys smirked and nodded vigorously, then swung around to watch the new girl as she went and sat down at the end of the table. She still had not lost that nonchalant, almost uncaring, look about her, almost like the unprecedented events that had just happened were everyday occurrences for her and she was bored with the repetitiveness. It made the rest of the Gryffindors a tad uneasy, but not uneasy enough not to investigate.  
  
"Hey, Thalia, is it? Welcome to Gryffindor," Sirius flashed his most charming smile and extended his hand. Thalia just looked at it, her deep green eyes empty of emotion.  
  
"Thank you," she said simply, her voice a very deep timbre with a hint of an Irish accent, but still very feminine. She did not take his hand, but just turned away, ending any hope of continuing the conversation. Sirius wore a puzzled a look on his face as he returned to his place next to James. All at once, that end of the table exploded in questions for him about Thalia. "Odd one, that is. In more ways than one," he told them.  
  
"What? Didn't drool all over herself when she saw you?" James teased good- naturally.  
  
"No, besides that," he rolled his eyes. "She seemed so, I don't know how to put it. Conflicted?"  
  
"All that analysis from "thank you"? Aren't you judging a little bit?" Mundy snorted.  
  
"Maybe I am, or maybe I'm right."  
  
"What's your basis for this judgement? Did she look conflicted?" Remus questioned him, curious to figure out this new girl.  
  
"That's just the thing: she didn't look like anything! Not scared, not happy, not even really bored. It's like, I dunno, she's hiding herself or something."  
  
"Ok, now you're jumping to conclusions. And when did you become so insightful to people's inner feelings, Freud?" Arabella raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Look, I can't explain, but that's just what I felt, ok? You can stop berating me now; food's here." All talk ceased as food started popping up on the gold tableware. Everyone promptly began stuffing his or her faces with the great feast. Everyone, except Thalia.  
  
*****  
  
"Ah! Sun!" Remus shielded his eyes as one by one the curtains were being thrown open by a rather over-enthusiastic Frank Longbottom.  
  
"I thought the sun only bothered vampires, not werewolves," Frank grinned. "Besides, it's the first day of school! Time to rise and shine so we can learn, learn, learn!"  
  
"Why the hell do you have to be such a morning person?" Sirius swore as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. "Every year it's like this. Why can't you just get up and leave the rest of us alone?"  
  
"Then I'd be lonely," his cheeky answer was retorted with five pillows to the head. "Ouch, watch it you guys! If you act like this, I won't ever wake you up again!"  
  
"Done and done," James said, then tossed another pillow in Frank's direction.  
  
"All right, all right! You win!" Frank retreated into the showers as the rest of the seventh year boys yawned, stretched, and cursed their way out of bed. Remus and James fumbled around sleepily, pulling open their trucks and started getting dressed, which is not the best thing to do while still half asleep.  
  
"Um, Moony, that's a sock you're trying to force onto your head, I hope you know" Sirius pointed out from across the room, where he was busy combing the tangles from his unruly black hair.  
  
"Oh, right. I knew that."  
  
It took nearly an hour and a half for the six boys to get dressed and ready, mainly because Peter stole James' glasses and hid them for a good laugh. James, however, didn't find this funny at all and Peter suffered the consequences.  
  
"C'mon James! Use the Piccaso Counter-jinx already! I can't eat if my mouth's next to my ears!" Peter begged for the umpteenth time as the group walked down the corridor for breakfast. A group of first years saw the state of the cursed fellow and began laughing at his expense. Peter glared at them, and with his altered facial features, scared them so badly they ran away.  
  
"I dunno, Peter, I kinda like your face this way. Sort of a conversation piece, wouldn't you say, Remus?" James smiled thoughtfully towards the boy in question.  
  
"Oh yes, quite. Tell me, how can you see properly if your eyes are on the same side of your head and parallel to one another?"  
  
"I can't!" Peter protested. "Now please change me back James! I promise never to steal your glasses again! Please? We're almost to the Great Hall!"  
  
"Oh, all right," he gave in. "Fini Piccamora!"  
  
Peter felt his face with his hands to make sure everything was where it was suppose to be as they all walked into the Great Hall. Going straight for the Gryffindor Table, all six sat in a group: James, Sirius, and Remus on one side, and the other three across from them. Being it was so early, hardly anyone else was down there. They all helped themselves to the apples, cereal, porridge, Danishes, and pumpkin juice that were the breakfast meal. As they thoroughly stuffed themselves, Professor McGonagall walked by and handed them each their schedule for the new year.  
  
"Damnit! Double Potions with the Slytherins again!" moaned Sirius. "Can we ever escape this?"  
  
"Probably not," Remus said thoughtfully. "I've got NEWT level Transfiguration afterwards, then Apparation Lessons. How about you guys?"  
  
"Same here," said Sirius and James simultaneously.  
  
"I've got NEWT level Herbology second," noted Peter.  
  
"I'm with Pettigrew," said Mundy.  
  
"I don't have last hour with you guys," informed Frank. "I've got NEWT level DADA."  
  
"Well, well, it seems I'm with you all day, Sirius," Arabella said suddenly, making Sirius jump. She was behind him, reading his schedule over his shoulder.  
  
"Sweet Merlin! Couldn't you have told me you were there? You've scared two years off my life!"  
  
"Hello, I'm behind you," she said sarcastically, reaching between him and Remus and grabbing an apple. "Does that work?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
She messed up his hair in frustration and retaliation, which caused Sirius to yelp in protest. "It will have to, Black. See you guys in Potions."  
  
"You know what, Sirius? I think she fancies you," Frank said after Arabella was out of earshot.  
  
"Yeah, or hates you with an undying passion," piped up Peter.  
  
"Let's hope it was the last one," he grumbled, trying to fix his hair with his fingers.  
  
"Speaking of girls who irk people something horribly," James looked down the aisle between tables. "Here comes the thorn in my side."  
  
"Good morning James," Lily said stiffly as she approached him. "I've just came to remind you that there will be a Prefect meeting before dinner tonight."  
  
"Yes, yes, I know," he told her, flashing a winning smile.  
  
"Good. There's also the issue of setting an example," she looked tenaciously at his untucked shirt and loose tie.  
  
"Don't worry, MUM, I've got it all under control," he said, keeping the smile, although now strained. He waved his hands at her, "Run along dear, you don't want your breakfast to get cold."  
  
Lily's amazing green eyes flashed with contempt for a second before she turned on her heel and left. James slumped onto the table and ran his hands through his raven hair, "I dunno how I'm going to put up with her for an entire term. She's incorrigible, she is."  
  
"Just thank your lucky stars she's a Ravenclaw and you only have one class with her," Mundy pointed out.  
  
"That's true," he said vaguely. Then it dawned on him, "Wait a second! One class? Which one?" James' eyes darted across his schedule.  
  
"NEWT level Charms on Thursday," Remus read from his schedule. "I've got it too."  
  
"Fan-bloody-tastic," James said flatly.  
  
"Guys, we've got to get moving!" Peter abruptly got up from the table, staring at the clock on the back wall. "We only have ten minutes to get to the dungeons! You know how Wormwood gets!"  
  
The boys quickly got up from the table, picked up their knapsacks and began the trek to Potions.  
  
*****  
  
As the six approached the Potions room, a crowd bunched up near the door stopped them from getting any further. They could just make out a couple of very familiar voices through the melee.  
  
"Hey look everybody! It's the freak girl!"  
  
"Go home, freak, you don't belong here. That's what the Sorting Hat was trying to tell you."  
  
"Maybe we should fix you, freak. I know a good curse that would help."  
  
"Oh, great, just what we need this morning," muttered James, as he, Remus, and Sirius pushed their way through the mass of people. "Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape."  
  
The three got to the two fairly quickly, considering, and soon sized up the situation. The tall, blonde, gray-eyed boy and his hooked-nosed, greasy- haired partner were glowering over the new girl, Thalia, with their wands pointed at her menacingly. She had a look of terror and embarrassment on her face. Remus, who felt immediate sympathy for her, as he knew what it felt like to have people label you a freak for something you couldn't control, instinctively darted between her and Malfoy and Snape.  
  
"Leave her alone!" he shouted as the two Slytherins looked at him coldly.  
  
"Or what, Lupin? Going to lecture us to death?" Malfoy drawled.  
  
"No. I'm going to kick your ass," Sirius growled from behind him, poking his wand into his back. Snape whipped around to deal with him, but came face to face with James.  
  
"Oh, fancy seeing you here, Potter," Snape said softly.  
  
"Just walk away, Snape," James' hazel eyes bore into him until he turned away and motioned for Lucius to follow him.  
  
"Are you all right?" Remus asked Thalia, as the other two boys made sure Snape and Malfoy kept their distance. Thalia just nodded, tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear.  
  
"You aren't much of a talker, are you?" he smiled kindly, hoping that she would do the same. She did.  
  
"I guess not. I'm not used to being in a place with this many people you know," she told him, but her eyes didn't meet his. Remus had a feeling that she was holding something back, but she wouldn't say any more.  
  
"Oh, I see," he ran his hand across the nape of his neck, his eyes catching sight of Professor Wormwood coming down the corridor. "Well, my teacher's here. I guess you should be getting on to where ever it was you were going before you were stopped rudely."  
  
"What do you mean? I have class here now," she looked at him curiously, then proceeded to enter class with the rest of the seventh years. Remus just stood there until his friends caught up with him.  
  
"What is it, Moony? You seem stumped by something," Frank put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Thalia's a seventh year," he said simply.  
  
"A seventh year? You must be mistaken," James looked at Remus as they sat down and got their Potions supplies out. "I mean, she just came to school this year."  
  
"Well, she's over there, isn't she?" he pointed to the front of the room, where Thalia was sitting alone, supplies out and quill at ready.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't have guessed."  
  
"Quiet down class, quiet down!" Potions Master Philip Wormwood rapped a potion's ladle on his desk to get everyone's attention and began to take role. As he called off "Yonkers, Thalia", he made a slight noise in the back of his throat, and his eyes flashed her way. Wormwood placed the role parchment back on his desk and cleared his throat, "Hopefully over the summer, not everything you learned last term seeped out of your brains. To make sure of that, I'm going to ask you a few questions. Potter! What's the main ingredient in a Wit-Sharpening Potion?"  
  
"Owl's feathers, two of them," he said slowly, hoping it was the right answer.  
  
"Correct. Black! What's the name of the Potion used to change people into other people for the period of an hour?"  
  
"Poly-Juice Potion."  
  
"Correct. Snape! How long does a Love Potion have to sit before usable?"  
  
"Three and a half days."  
  
"Correct. Figg! What potion can cure you of frostbite?"  
  
"The Jack-Frost Potion?" Arabella said meekly. Potions was her worst subject.  
  
"No, you silly girl. It's the Defrost Potion. Ten points from Gryffindor. Goyle! What color is a Shrinking Potion?"  
  
"Uhh, I dunno. Blue?" the fat, slow boy scratched his head in an apelike manner.  
  
"Green, you imbecile! Two points from Slytherin." Wormwood looked around the room, noting the glares the Gryffindors were giving him for his House favoritism and matched them. His gaze landed on Thalia, who was frantically writing down notes. A nasty smile crept across his features. "Yonkers!"  
  
Thalia looked up automatically, "What?"  
  
He stroked his chin, "What are you writing?"  
  
"Um, just notes, sir," she gulped.  
  
"Hmm, interesting. Tell me, what are the names and functions of the four potions that make up the list that will get you sent to Azkaban and their antidotes!"  
  
"What?" hissed Remus to James. "That isn't fair! We haven't ever learned that yet!"  
  
"Of course we haven't. No one except for Dark Wizards knows all four of those potions. The Ministry forbids the teaching of them, you know, so we don't go and make them and whatnot," James hissed back. "He's just doing this to embarrass her."  
  
"Why the hell would he do that?"  
  
"I dunno, he's evil?"  
  
"Point taken."  
  
Thalia finally spoke, "The first is Drought of the Living Dead, which will slow down your functions so much, even a Mediwizard would pronounce you deceased, causing you to most likely be buried alive. Its antidote is the Everlife Elixir. Second is the Imperius Potion. It, like the Imperius Curse, controls your every action. Its antidote is the Free-Thought Drought. Third, is the Walking Poison, which stays inside your body for a maximum of three days. During that time, everything you touch becomes contaminated and if someone else touches the contaminated object, they get the poison as well. Its antidote is the Vanquish Elixir. And finally, the fourth is the Termite Serum, which eats your body from the inside out. It has no antidote." As she finished, there was a loud thud as Wormwood dropped the book he was holding.  
  
"How do you know-?" he stammered.  
  
"I guess I've just read it somewhere," she said quickly.  
  
"Impossible. All books containing these potions were destroyed after Dark Lord Grindelwald's defeat in 1945, in hopes of preventing the use of them ever again. There is only two tomes left with this information: one at the Ministry, the other is on the floor of this very classroom," Wormwood stared at her as if she was something he couldn't understand, like a paradox.  
  
"Well, well, well why would you ask me a question you didn't want the answer to?" Thalia huffed angrily, glaring daggers at the Potions Master. Suddenly, five glass flasks behind him exploded without warning. Thalia's face, crimson with anger, turned white quicker than you could say "What the --?" She grabbed her books and left the room, ignoring the fact that the students were giving her a wide berth.  
  
"Sweet Merlin, this can't be good." 


	3. The Dark is Rising

Chapter Three: The Dark is Rising  
  
Throughout James, Sirius, and Remus' next class, Transfiguration, the subject of Thalia's outburst in Potions was on everyone's mind and the topic of everyone's conversation. Rumors were spreading like wildfire; her absence to the class acting as an accelerant. James and Sirius were discussing the incident so vividly that Sirius had accidentally screwed up his Sapiens Fowl Transfiguration Spell he was performing on his best friend. Instead of turning James into a chicken, which would molt in a matter of minutes, poor Prongs was still stuck with a rooster's crown on top of his head, and occasionally clucked. Professor McGonagall assured him, before he left for lunch, that he'd be as right as rain soon enough. James wasn't so sure.  
  
"I swear to all things holy, Sirius, that if I'm still like this by the Prefect meeting tonight cluck cluck," he glared at Sirius, who was trying to stifle his laughter, but failing miserably, "I'll curse you when you least expect it."  
  
"No you won't, Prongsy," Sirius laughed and threw his arm around his friend. "You love me too much."  
  
As Remus chortled at Sirius' attempted at puppy-dog eyes, James' harsh expression softened. "Damn, you know me cluck cluck too well for your own good."  
  
"That's the obligation of being your best friend, silly goose. Or should I say chicken?"  
  
"You know who we don't know very well? Thalia," Remus interrupted, bringing up the previous conversation. "I still can't see how she could've broken those glasses without the use of a wand."  
  
"Assuming she's the one who broke them," Sirius pointed out. "You know, there could have been a breeze or something. That shelf wasn't all too sturdy."  
  
"You saw how she was glaring at Wormwood. I've read books about wizards who could destroy huge buildings just by concentrating on them hard enough. Some sort of psychokinesis gone astray would be the best way to describe it."  
  
"Gone astray? What do you mean by that?" James looked at Remus through his glasses, trying to cover up his red crown with his naturally messy raven hair as they approached the Great Hall.  
  
"Psychokinesis is the power to make things move with your inner energy, your Chi. Just move. You're not suppose to be able to destroy objects with it," Remus said matter-of-fact. He smiled sheepishly as his friends gave him the well known "How do you know all this information?" look, "Some parts of Divination interest me that's all."  
  
"Oh that's just fan-bloody-tastic!" Sirius said with a huff. "We have a girl in our midst that is both a closet Dark Wizard and can just blow us to smithereens with her mind! She's a winner, that's for sure."  
  
"Whatever she is cluck baGAWCK, Dumbledore trusts her, and that's enough for me," James said stubbornly, ignoring the snickers and finger-pointing that was going on. He and his two mates strutted down between tables to catch up with their friends who were already sitting at the Gryffindor table, savoring lunch. It was no surprise that Thalia wasn't among the diners present.  
  
"There you three are! I was wondering what took you," Arabella said as Sirius and Remus sat down and pulled up a plate, which immediately filled with food. James was still standing, making a rather rude gesture at some Slytherins who were making chicken noises in his direction. Obviously, the minor but annoying taunts had gotten the better of him.  
  
"We had to stay after class to ask McGonagall about Prong's, ahem, problem," Remus' eyes twinkled with mirth as nodded towards the still- visible crown atop James' head. Peter and Mundy, who weren't in Transfiguration last hour, tried to hide their obvious amusement by coughing into their napkins. Alas, it was in vain.  
  
"Oh, ha ha, laugh at my expense," he said dryly as he flounced into his usual seat next to Sirius and grabbed a plate.  
  
"With relish," grinned Peter. "I guess this is the comeuppance for turning me into a living example of Absinthe Glass."*  
  
"Oi! Mail's coming!" slurred Sirius through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. And sure enough, the faint screeching of owls could be heard above them. Suddenly, with a great SWOOSH, a cascade of birds flew in, dropping off letters, packages, newspapers, and parcels to expecting students. A great roan barn owl with mail in talon dove precariously over the Gryffindor table, causing a group of first years to scream and fling themselves to the ground. He barely stopped before colliding with his owner's head.  
  
"Thanks, Nemo," Remus stroked his feathers in thanks as the rest of the group got up from underneath the table, where they had taken refuge from the kamikaze bird. Nemoregere, to use the owl's proper name, dropped his owner's mail onto the well-worn wooden tabletop, took a sip from Remus' goblet, and took off carelessly into the air, almost crashing into several other flyers before leaving the Great Hall for the Owlery. Remus picked up his mail and thumbed through it. When he arrived at the copy of The Daily Prophet that was situated at the bottom of the pile, he froze. All color drained from his normally rosy complexion as he let out a faint huff of trepidation. Across the table, Peter noticed his friend's distress.  
  
"What's the matter Moony? What's happened?" he said tentatively, as if he feared the answer. The rest of the boys grew silent as they waited for Remus to speak. Remus swallowed hard then began reading the headline.  
  
"LORD VOLDEMORT" STRIKES AGAIN  
  
  
  
  
  
DEATH TOLL RISES TO EIGHT  
  
This has been the second attack in three months by the Dark wizard who calls himself "Lord Voldemort" writes correspondent Edna Pruitt. The attack, situated in a small wizarding community outside of Essex, resulted in the death of five witches and wizards, two of which were children, Wednesday evening. Witnesses say that Voldemort, along with several other dark cloaked individuals whom he called "Death Eaters", went into the victims' home and murdered them outright.  
  
"The wizarding world hasn't experienced anything this flagitious since Grindelwald's time," stated Alastor Moody, an Auror who was first on the scene. "When we catch the slime that has done this, you can be sure they'll face some dire consequences."  
  
This attack is an eerie mirror image of the first attack by Voldemort three months prior in the wizard village of Hogsmeade, in which three witches and wizards were murdered. Both attacks were similar in style and were marked with a calling card that is now being referred to as The Dark Mark.  
  
The families of the victims have been notified, but names have not been released to the public. If you have any information on Lord Voldemort or the Death Eaters, please contact your local Ministry Official. Until the culprits are caught, however, the Ministry advises that everyone be on the lookout for anything that does not seem normal and be cautious.  
  
As Remus finished his recitation, he passed the paper around. Underneath the article was a picture of the poor victims' home, and above the house was something that seemed to be the epitome of evil. It was a ghastly form; huge, menacing, and twinkling. The shape it was in was that of a cruel looking skull with a snake protruding out from its sneering mouth like a serpentish tongue. The people in the photo looked as if just the mere sight of this thing made them uneasy; they were constantly glancing up at the Mark, grimacing, and walking quickly away.  
  
"This doesn't look too good," muttered Mundy as he past the paper along.  
  
"That's a gross understatement," Remus laughed harshly. "This Voldemort guy seems to mean business. It will be a miracle if there isn't another attack much worse than these two."  
  
"Always the pessimist, cluck aren't we Remus?"  
  
"Maybe so, James, but as I always say, 'Expect the worst so when it comes it won't be a kick in the face'."  
  
"Nice motto, Moony. Remind me to cross-stitch it on a sampler for you for Christmas. It'd be a nice thing to hang in the dormitory," Sirius rolled his crystal blue eyes. "Seriously though, this Voldemort character just seems to be another one of those mad wizards who indulge themselves in the Dark Arts so much that they don't even know what's reality anymore. Remember back ten years ago when a few wizards were going around killing Muggles? They ended up in Azkaban faster than you can snap your fingers. The same thing will happen with this psycho and his band of Death Eaters." He slammed his fist down on the newspaper as if to solidify his point. Remus looked up at him, mouth drawn in a thin line and his eyes filled with doubt.  
  
"I hope so, Padfoot. I hope so."  
  
*****  
  
"Mr. Black, I advise you not to goof around in this class!" Madam Higgins glared at the mischievous teen, who quickly put on his most angelic looks and stared at his shoes appropriately, all the while concealing the spitwads he was flinging at the ceiling using his wand just moments before. James, Remus, Peter, and Mundy were turning red from holding in their laughter, while Arabella was giving the five reproachful looks. "Honestly," continued the harassed Apparation Professor as she ruffled some papers on her desk, "if you keep this up, you're going to end up splinched and then you'll feel sorry for not paying attention."  
  
"No, I won't," muttered Sirius under his breath, causing his companions to snicker. Higgins, luckily, didn't hear as she situated herself in front of the class. She clapped her hands together and looked around at the students, "Apparation is a difficult task for a wizard to perform. Most witches or wizards choose not to do it because of the consequences of messing up an Apparation. I admit, being splinched isn't a walk in the park, but I do think that Apparation is the best, and fastest, way for a wizard to travel. Now then," Madam Higgins dug around in her scarlet-red robes and dug out her wand, "listen and watch; make sure to note my wand movement: disappatium hallway!" She waved her wand with a flourish and then there was a loud POP! and she was gone.  
  
"That was pretty cool," James complemented. The rest agreed wholeheartedly while Remus just nodded; he was too busy scratching away at a piece of parchment with a quill, writing down notes. Madam Higgins popped back into the room just moments after.  
  
"As you can see, Apparation doesn't seem too hard. But trust me it is. In this class, more than any, you will need to pay the utmost attention if you want to succeed, and not end up in the Hospital Wing," she looked pointingly at Sirius. "Now this is the beginning level of Apparation. In time, after much practice, you will be able to just Apparate without the use of a wand, just by imagining the place you want to go and saying the spell in your mind." Higgins got up from her relaxed position on her desk and motioned for a few students to help her push the tables and chairs to the back of the room. She explained as she worked, "What we are going to do now is practice Apparating from one side of the room to another. By getting all these chairs and tables out of the way, it will reduce the chance of a mishap. Now, a volunteer. Mr. Lupin, why don't you give it a go?" The sandy haired boy's mouth went dry as he went to the back of the room next to Higgins.  
  
"All right, Mr. Lupin, just wave your wand like this," she showed him slowly, emphasizing the twists and wrist rolls to make sure he caught it, "and say disappatium front of room! "  
  
Remus swallowed hard, and said, "Disappatium front of room!" With two almost simultaneous POP! noises he disappeared and reappeared at the front of the room to tremendous applause. He just smiled sheepishly and returned to the back of the room where he was given a hearty slap on the back from Sirius.  
  
"Very good Mr. Lupin. Ten points to Gryffindor. All right then, now the rest of you give it a go. Go on!" Madam Higgins prodded the remainder of the students. What started out as reluctance soon became fun as Sirius decided that Apparating to the front of the room was boring and that "Disappatium chandelier!" would prove to be more amusing. James and Peter took his lead and soon there were witches and wizards popping up all over the room, on top of bookcases, inside cabinets, and one time James even dared to land on top of Higgins' desk, letting out a tremendous "Cock-a- doodle-do!" in the process. Remus and Mundy just sat back and watched, stitches growing in their sides from laughing so hard. Arabella looked conflicted, as if she wanted to laugh, but thought it would just encourage them. Her maturity broke down however when Sirius' planned Apparation went astray and he landed in the rubbish can. Madam Higgins just laid her head down on her desk and was heard muttering about Madam Pomfrey and how much Headache Drought she would have to make for her this evening.  
  
Everyone was having so much fun at creating chaos that hardly anyone noticed when a student arrived tardy to class. That the student seemed pale, her eyes red-rimmed as if she'd been crying. Only Remus saw Thalia slip into her seat, virtually unnoticed.  
  
*****  
  
The boys left Apparation class in much better spirits than they had entered it two hours prior. All thoughts about Voldemort and Thalia were vanquished from their minds, that is, until they were confronted by a very anxious, but determined Lily Evans.  
  
"There you are!" she said flabbergasted and woebegone, practically running towards James as he and the rest of the squad approached the Fat Lady. He turned and surpressed a sigh of disdain. "Here I am, you've found me. Am I 'It' next?" She looked at him curiously, "I don't know what you mean."  
  
"It seems to me cluck cluck that we're playing some prolonged game of hide and seek with all of these 'There you are's' and chasing down's and whatnot," James smiled nonchalantly while Sirius and Mundy had to turn around to hide their laughter. Lily was not amused.  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. Potter, but we aren't," she glared furiously. "The reason that I so frantically looked for you is that Dumbledore has pushed up the Prefect meeting to before dinner so we can have a lengthy discussion about the troubles that are brewing outside Hogwarts. To," she looked down at the thin silver watch that darned her wrist, "an hour from now, in fact. Also, you, being Head Boy and all," she said mockingly, "you're expected to give some sort of a speech on Voldemort and how as Head Boy you're going to make sure the school and its occupants will be kept safe. Good luck," she smiled sweetly, and started to walk away. Before she came to the corner of the seventh floor corridor she turned and slung at James a parting jibe, "You know, the chicken look just doesn't suit you. Next time, I think being transfigured into a jackass would be more appropriate." And with a wave of her fingers, she turned the corner, unfortunately missing the most wonderful shade of red James' face turned and how Sirius teased him about how he let a girl get the better of him.  
  
"She's a spitfire, there's no mistaking that," laughed Mundy as James just scowled darkly. "A mighty pretty spitfire, if I do say so myself."  
  
"Yeah, if you're into flame-haired banshees," James said unconvincingly. He turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Alpha Centauri!"  
  
"Right you are sir!" The Fat Lady swiveled open, clearing the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
"Besides," James said hastily. "She isn't my type."  
  
"Oh, so you ARE saying you like her," teased Peter.  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"Yes you are!" Sirius and Peter chanted in a childish fashion.  
  
"No I'm not!" James retorted in an equally juvenile matter and slammed the door to the seventh year dormitory.  
  
"The first day back and already he has a crush on a girl who can't stand him," smiled Sirius as he sank into an overstuffed brick red armchair. "Good ol' Prongsy."  
  
*****  
  
"Welcome Hogwarts Prefects to the first official meeting that we'll be having periodically throughout the year," Lily began an hour later. The Prefects, six from each house, were situated around a circular table in highly polished oak chairs; Lily and the finally chicken-free James sitting across from each other. The room they were in was something to be wondered: shaped like a dome, the ceiling was covered in twinkling constellations, which would switch seasonal patterns every couple of minutes or so. The eight windows were stained glassed, in a scheme of red, green, yellow, and blue. To top it off, tapestries adorned the walls depicting the achievements each house had accomplished since the school was founded. But the beauty of the room wasn't what was on the mind of the Prefects as Lily went on to inform them about Voldemort and the troubles they could be soon facing.  
  
"With recent attacks, Dumbledore has found it necessary for you all as Prefects and James and me as Head Boy and Girl to be aware that we need to be a backbone for the students. There are going to be many questions that are going to be asked that we may not know the answers to, but we have to give reassuring answers as so not to create even more problems, understand?" She looked around the table as the congregation all nodded their heads in reply; James in a more curt manner than most. She smiled, "Great. Now, any questions?"  
  
"Just one! Over here Lily!" a ginger-haired boy with curly hair was waving his hand in the air excitedly.  
  
"All right. Robert Bones of Hufflepuff has the floor." Lily sat down as the fifth year stood up and faced everyone.  
  
"You say that people are going to come to us with questions that we may not be able to answer, but we should try and answer them anyway, right?" Lily nodded and urged him to continue. He swallowed, "But what happens when they come to us with a question that we do know the answer to, but the answer is so horrible that they would be better off not knowing?" Robert sat down as his fellow Prefects began muttering their opinions of the question to their colleagues. Lily rapped her knuckles on table to quiet everyone down and was about to answer the question, but James cut her off.  
  
"Well, Robert, as Dumbledore always says, 'The truth is preferable to lies'. Just hiding the fact that something is horrible isn't going to make it go away. In fact, it will probably make it even harder to comprehend when the truth is finally revealed. So to answer your question, answer students' ponderings with the most truthful answer you can think of, all right?"  
  
"Thank you, James," Lily said in a business-type tone, but underneath, you could sense the annoyance. "Since you obviously have a strong opinion on the subject, why don't you give us your standing as Head Boy on the subject?"  
  
"All right then," James stood up nonchalantly, but underneath his calm façade he was sweating big time. Sure, it was easy just talking to people, answering questions. When it came to actual public speaking, giving speeches and the like, however, James hated it. "My standing on the um, Voldemort situation, is this." James began awkwardly, wringing his hands. Luckily for him, it was at that moment a mousy-haired fifth year ran into room, panting and gasping for air as if he ran the entire way.  
  
"Matthew Creevy! What on earth."Lily was interrupted by the boy as he caught his breath.  
  
"Sorry, Lily, but this is urgent! Dumbledore sent me from dinner to inform you all. Thought it would best if I brought the message." He rambled unaware to him, his voice holding the tone of someone who held a bombshell in their hands and was on the verge of dropping it. "It's Voldemort. He's attacked again. I'm sorry James," he turned to face the Head Boy, tears brimming in his eyes. James looked at him numbly, not even really hearing the next thing Matthew said.  
  
"He--he got your mum and dad."  
  
* Absinthe Glass is a cubic sculpture Piccaso made that looked like a mutated man's face, which is what most cubic faces looked like. 


End file.
